/ 


dfhri.'it  the  Mail  the  iTnith,  and  the  jL'ife, 


iit;iN(;  TiiK 


BACCALAlIUvVTi:  SERMON 


PREACHED    BEFORE   THE 


COLLEGE  OF  NEW  JERSEY, 


JVJ^E   27,    1S69. 


By  JAMES  McCOSH,  D.D.,  LL.D., 


PRESIDENT    OF   THE    COLLEGE. 


PRINCETON,  N.  .1.  : 

STELLE    A    SMITH.    PinLlSHEUS    AND    llOOKSELLERS. 
180'.>. 


V^J  ^oo- 


cC-^6^ 


o4/    JhiJ^hu^     <CUHii      CCv^C^t/lc. 

dihrifit  the  oulai),  ihe  ^nitli  and  the  X\\t. 


« 

HKINC    'IHK 


lUCCA LAUREATE  SERMON 


I'KKAi   IIKI)    »i:r«»KK    THE 


C()lli:gk  of  ni:w  jersey, 


JVJfE   27,    1869. 
By  .JAMES  McOOSIl,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

PUESIDKNT    OF    TIIK    (■()I,1,E(;K. 


PRINCETON,  N.  .1.  : 

STEI.I.K    k    SMITH,    ITBLISnERS    AM)    HOOKSEl.l.KRS. 


Pkinckton,  .Iii.y   1,   IHC)'.). 
Rev.   Dr.   McCosh, 

Dear  Sir : 
In  accordance  with  a  resolution  of  the  Class  of  *(V.t,  passed  unanimously 
at  a  meeting  held  on  Coinniencenient  day,  Wednesday,  J^ne  -W,  IHO'.J,  we 
would  earnestly  and  respectfully  request  a  copy  of  the  Baccalaureat<>  Sermon 
delivered  by  you  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Princeton,  on  Sunday, 
June  27th,  for  publication. 

On  behalf  of  graduating  class, 

N.  EWIN<;,  Ju., 
F.  BALTZELL, 
H.  BERGNER, 

Committee. 


PlUXCKTON,    AlG.,    1800. 

Gentlemen  : 

I  comply  with  your  request,  not  because  I  look  on  the  discourse  as  pos- 
sessing any  special  excellence  in  itself,  but  because  it  winds  up  a  course  of 
instruction  delivered  during  the  year,  and  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  blessed 
to  those  who  heard  it  in  circumstances  iitted  to  awaken  thought  and  feeling. 

JAMES  McCOSH. 


SERMON 


John  XIV.   *>.     .Iksi  s  saiiii   inui   iiim.    i    am    iiik  uav,  ami  tmi:  TiUTn, 

AND    THE    LIKK. 

Every  one  nmst  have  folt  tliat  lliore  is  a  [)eealiar  tender- 
ness of  sentiment,  and  at  the  same  time,  elevation  of  view  in 
those  discourses  which  our  Lord  a(hh'essed  to  his  disciples 
ere  he  parted  from  them.  It  has  often  been  remarked,  that 
the  love  of  friends  never  seems  so  great  as  when  tliey  are 
about  to  be  separated  :  and  it  certainly  looks  as  if  the  pros- 
pect of  parting  with  his  disciples,  who  had  companied  with 
him  for  years,  had  imparted  a  special  patlios  to  these  heart 
utterances  of  our  Lord.  That  sun  looks  large  and  glows 
upon  us  with  a  greater  splendor  ere  lie  sets.  In  particular 
how  large  does  He  appear  as  he  presents  himself  under  these 
aspects,  the  Way,  the  Trutli,  and  the  Life.  Let  us  look  to 
Him  first  under  these  aspects  separately,  and  secondly,  as 
combining  them. 

L  Let  u.s  view  ('iikist  in  thhsk  thkek  aspects  sepa- 
rately. 

(1).  I  am  /III-  11"///.  One  of  the  <leepest  feelings  in  man's 
nature  is  a  sense  of  want,  a  want  of  something,  of  some- 
thing which  his  own  nature,  which  this  world  are  found 
incapalde  of  supplying.  Vou,  self-righteous  man,  are  made 
to  feel  on  occasions,  that  it  may  not  be  altogether  safe  to 
stand  on  your])ast  conduct  oi-  pi-esent  character.     Ah  world- 


liiiic!  you  are  scnsi])le  that  tliere  is  something  unsatisfying 
in  these  very  eonit'orts  and  enjoyments  of  yours  :  the  eye 
is  not  satistied  witli  seeing,  nor  the  ear  with  hearing,  nor 
the  amhition  witli  suceess,  nor  the  lust  with  gratification, 
ay  there  is  something  wanting,  and  you  know  it,  you  feel 
it  at  times,  though  you  may  not  yet  know,  or  be  ready  to 
acknowledge,  what  it  is  that  would  fill  the  void. 

It  arises  from  sin — no  doubt  of  that — from  the  terrible 
disruptions  with  the  intervening  chasms  which  sin  has  pro- 
duced. But  it  can  scarcely  be  called  a  sense  of  sin,  except 
indeed  at  tempestuous  times  when  the  conscience  arouses 
us,  as  the  heathen  mariners  did  Jonah,  "Arise  thou  sleeper 
and  call  u[)on  tliy  God."  And  this  awakening  is  apt  to  be 
only  t^^mporary,  and  we  demand  a  little  more  sleep,  a  little 
more  slumber;  but  it  is  not  the  sleep  which  God  gives  his 
beloved,  but  a  broken  sleep  witli  troubled  dreams,  and 
wakings  up,  with  sudden  starts  ever  and  anon,  which  make 
us  long  for  unbroken  rest  without  finding  it. 

What  man  especially  needs  to  know  is  a  way — a  way  of 
access  to  the  Father.  "  Show  us  the  Father,"  said  Philip. 
For  it  is  natural  to  man  to  have  some  apprehension  of  God. 
Man,  ahis,  is  naturally  sinful,  naturally  ungodly,  but  he  is 
not  naturally  an  atheist.  I  enter  not  here  upon  the  dis- 
l)uted  speculative  question,  as  to  whether  the  idea  of  God 
is  or  is  not  innate:  what  I  maintain  is  that  despite  his 
downward  tendencies,  man  is  led,  by  what  he  sees  without 
him,  by  what  he  feels  within  to  look  up  to  a  supernatural  pow- 
er. The  conscience  within  telling  us  of  a  law  and  point- 
ing to  a  lawgiver  ;  the  nuirks  of  order,  beauty,  and  design  in 
earth  and  sky,  in  plant  and  animal ;  the  traces  of  care  and 
government ;  the  encouragements  to  good  and  the  penalties 
attached  to  evil  in  the  providence  of  God ;  all  these  lead 
and  constrain  us  to  entertain  some  idea,  some  hope,  or  fear, 
or  faith,  in  regard  to  an  agency  above  the  elements  and  other 
natural  agents.  That  Being  he  would  fondly  claim  as  a  Father. 
But  where  is  tliat  Father?     How  can  he  know  the  way? 


Shew  us  till'  FatliiM-  and  it  snfHcclli  ns.  Tin- Iclict' iii;iy  lie 
vague,  the  longing  indelinite  :  "  an  infant  crying  in  the 
night,"  when  its  mother  is  gone,  hecanso  it  wants  it  knows 
not  what ;  the  want  is  [lositive,  tlie  ohject  it  cries  for  ia 
unknown,  ])iit  tlicre  is  a  ten-il>U'  crv  for  it  wlicn  at  any  time 
it  awakes. 

The  feeling  is  for  sonK'tliiiig  wanting,  soinetliiiig  which 
has  heen  lost.  Man  feels  as  if  lie  had  wandcrtMl,  ''  F  have 
gone  astray  like  a  lost  sheep.''  There  must  be  a  way,  no 
doubt  of  it,  to  the  Father,  but  how  can  we  know  the  way? 
There  is  a  way  hut  by  some  mistake  or  nnsfortune  we  liave 
lost  it,  and  the  ditticulty  is  to  discover  it  ;  and  when  at 
any  time  we  tind  a  promising  track  on  this  world's 
surface,  and  set  out  on  it  we  are  soon  made  to  feel  that  it 
is  not  the  right  one,  as  it  conducts  us  to  no  satisfactory 
termination.  "  They  wandered  in  the  wilderness  in  a  soli- 
tary way  ;  they  found  no  city  to  dwell  in  ;  hungry  and 
thirsty  their  soul  fainted  in  them."  Conceive  a  revolving 
planet  or  a  shining  sun  wandering  from  its  sphere  up  there 
where  "order  is  heaven's  first  law."  Xow  it  is  hindered  and 
stayed  by  bodies  attracting  it  or  attracted  by  it,  and  forth- 
with it  dashes  through  space  threatening  to  strike  and  break 
in  fragments,  or  kindle  into  a  conflagration  all  the  other 
planets  and  suns  it  meets  with.  It  is  a  picture  of  a  wander- 
ing angel,  it  is  a  picture  of  a  wandering  man,  loosened  from 
the  central  power  that  stays  him,  and  away  fi-om  the  cen- 
tral light  that  should  illuminate  him  ;  now  in-strained  slug- 
gish and  slothful,  and  anon  dancing  along  in  i)eril  )us  or 
destructive  paths ;  now  in  darkness,  and  again  in  light  that 
blimls  or  among  fires  that  consume.  That  wamlering  body 
up  in  the  heavens,  will  not  right  itself  till  brought  back  to 
its  old  position,  and  made  to  move  in  its  old  path.  That 
wandering  sinner  on  earth  will  not  be  iu  his  right  state  and 
position,  till  brought  back  to  his  old  relation  to  God,  and 
moving  round  him  as  a  centre  illuminated  bv  his  beams. 


I>iit  liow  can  wr  knowtlie  way  ?  lluiiian  reason  can  give 
no  intclliux'iit  or  satistactoi'v  answer  to  tliis  question.  All 
its  iiivostii^ations  only  conduct  into  ever  thickening  dark- 
ness, in  wliicli  tears  and  doubts  have  their  appropriate  dwell- 
ing jdace.  Who  is  wortliy  to  open  this  sealed  book  and 
unfold  this  mystery?  When  this  (juestion  is  put  all  crea- 
tion continues  silent  and  abaslied.  The  depth  saith  it  is  not 
in  me,  and  the  sea  saith  it  is  not  in  me.  The  thoughtful  mind 
would  weep  like  John,  till  sucli  time  as  it  sees  the  lion  of 
tlie  tribe  of  Juchili  taking  the  book  and  breaking  the  seals. 
The  mind  feels  that  it  has  nothing  to  rest  on,  no  truth  on 
which  the  understanding  can  settle,  and  the  heart  repose 
till  it  sees  Christ  standing,  and  liears  him  proclaiming  *^I 
am  the  way." 

(•2).  "  /  <nit  the  Ti'iifh."  l>y  truth  in  this  passage  we  are  not 
to  understand  abstract  general  (h)ctrine,  such  as  we  have 
in  our  creeds  and  excellent  catecliisms.  Such  systematized 
truth  being  a  comprehensive  summary  of  the  scattered 
statements  of  God's  Word,  may  serve  some  good  purposes 
in  exhil>iti!ig  the  unity  of  the  trutli,  in  guiding  the  thoughts 
of  tlie  young  and  of  impiirers  generally,  and  in  testing 
soundness  in  the  faith.  But  it  is  not  to  such  that  our  Lord 
refers,  when  lie  says  ''  I  am  the  truth."  Truth  is  defined 
by  philosophers  as  the  agreement  of  our  ideas  Avith  things. 
When  in  regard  to  any  particular  object  or  event,  our  views 
correspond  to  realities  in  that  matter  w^e  have  truth.  When 
we  know  God  as  he  really  is,  and  the  relation  in  which  we 
stand  to  liim,  then  hav(^  we  truth  in  religion.  But  how  can 
we  know  (lod  as  he  really  is?  When  apart  from  Christ 
we  set  out  in  the  search,  how  difficult  to  find  llim!  Do  we 
not  feel  as  if  lie  were  at  an  awfnl  distance  and  beyond  our 
reach,  as  if  he  were  at  an  infinite  height  above  us,  and  as  if 
we  could  no  moi'c  i-istj  to  him  with  our  spirits,  than  our 
frail  bodies  eould  mount  from  earth  to  heaven  ?  Who  will 
give  us  wings  that  we  may  ascend  to  llim?  Alas!  the 
attraction  of  earth  is  too  powerful  to  allow  of  our  ascending 


to  Him.  Who  then  will  «;•()  up  to  heaven  to  l)rinu:  ''im  <lo\vii 
to  us?  As  we  make  these  searches  and  etibrts  the  conscience 
of  sin  unrepented  and  unforgiven  makes  us  feel  that  they 
are  all  in  vain.  'I'lie  ai>pr()ach  must  he  on  his  ]»art.  TIic 
grandest  thinker  of  all  heathen  antitiuity  (Plato),  was 
obliged  to  say  "the  Father  of  the  woild  is  hard  to  discover, 
and  when  discovered  cannot  he  eoniniunicatc*!."  ''  Show^  us 
the  Father  and  it  sulHeeth  us,"  said  a  linmhlcr  man.  ]31essed 
be  his  eternal  love  and  grace,  the  Father  hath  shown  him- 
self to  us.  Jesus  said  to  him  who  put  the  (piestion,  ''Have 
I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  seen 
me,  Phili[) ;  he  that  hath  seen  meliath  seen  the  Father,  and 
how  sayest  thou  then  shew  us  the  Father."  When  we  go  in 
by  Christ  the  way  he  introduces  to  the  Father,  and  we  have 
the  truth.  Here  is  the  bridge  that  spans  the  chasm.  Here 
is  the  link  that  jbins  the  sundered  parts. 

"  What  is  truth,"  was  the  question  put  by  Pilate  to  our 
Lord.  It  is  usually  said  that  he  did  not  give  a  reply.  He 
may  not  have  answered  him  in  words,  but  he  answered  him 
in  tact.  lie  had  said  "  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this 
cause  came  I  unto  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness 
unto  the  truth."  The  truth  was  before  him,  if  he  had  but 
known  the  gift  of  God,  and  who  it  was  that  was^sj^eaking 
to  him.  For  when  we  know  Christ  we  know  God.  "  He 
that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father,"  and  henceforth 
we  have  no  need  to  say  "  shew  us  the  Father." 

Pained  with  the  contemplation,  man  lias  ever  been  afraid 
to  look  upon  an  infinitely  holy  God.  Man  has  ever  been 
carnalizing  God  in  order  to  bring  him  down  to  his  own 
level,  and  in  carnalizing  has  been  degrading  him.  But 
here  in  the  Eternal  Word  become  iiesh,  is  a  God  incarnate 
without  beino:  dci^raded.  The  briu'litness  of  the  Father's 
glory  without  being  shorn  of  a  single  ray,  shines  upon  us 
with  a  milder  lustre  as  it  comes  from  the  lace  of  his  8on. 
All  coldness  and  distrust  are  banished,  when  we  feel  that 
in  drawing  near  to  Jesus  it  is  man  coming  to  man.      I'n- 


10 

* 

belief  is  dispolk'il  wlion  we  ronlizc  tliat  we  have  a  bi'otber's 
lieart  beatiniz;  tor  us  on  tlie  tlirone  of  glorv.  This  is  the 
truth,  and  tlie  soul  tliat  has  found  Clirist,  lias  found  the 
trutli,  and  ferls  tliat  it  has  found  the  truth,  and  need  2:0  no 
farther.  With  the  trutli  there  is  iissuranee,  and  assurance 
yields  peace.  People  often  wonder  how  faith  should  be 
tlie  source  of  peace.  And  certainly  faith  will  not  give 
peace,  unless  it  be  a  faith  in  truth,  a  faith  in  the  reality  of 
things.  The  faith  of  the  heathen  in  their  gods  does  not  give 
peace.  Tt  is  faith  in  Christ  as  the  truth,  as  known  to  be  the 
ti'uth,  as  felt  to  he  the  truth,  which  gives  peace.  The  eye 
brought  out  of  darkness  unto  marvellous  light,  does  not 
need  to  be  told  that  this  is  the  light,  it  knows  that  is  the 
light,  and  the  light  is  j)leasant  to  the  e3'es  as  in  every  way 
suited  to  it.  The  ear  does  not  need  to  be  informed  that  this 
is  music,  it  feels  it  to  be  so  as  it  listens  to  it  and  rejoices  in 
it.  This,  this  is  the  reality  of  things.  "  I  have  found,"  "  I 
have  found,"'  is  tlie  expression  of  the  soul,  as  if  it  feels  tliat 
it  has  o^ot  what  it  was  seekins;  and  is  satistied. 

(3).  "  I  am  the  IJfe.''^  It  is  of  vast  moment  that  we  know 
the  way  ;  essential  that  we  reach  the  truth;  but  we  must 
liave  more.  The  well  formed  statue  is  an  interesting  object, 
but  none  of  us  wouhl  exchanc^e  our  livincr  condition,  for 
that  of  tlie  chiselle(l  maibh'  which  stands  so  stiff  and  cold 
on  its  pedestal.  (Jod's  work  was  not  half  finished,  when  he 
fashioned  that  goodly  frame  of  ours  out  of  the  dust  of  the 
gi-<»inid  :  it  was  not  completed  till  In-  bi'eathed  into  man  the 
breath  of  life,  and  he  became  a  living  soul.  Along  with 
the  truth  we  must  have  life. 

A  living  poet  describes  one  ol'his  chai-actcrs  as  dead  and 
buried  under  the  streets  of  a  great  city,  and  yet — inconsist- 
ent enough  I  grant — hearingabovehim  the  clattering  sounds 
of  the  moving  men  and  horses  and  chariots,  so  that  he  can 
not  have  the  rest,  which  the  dead  ai'c  expected  to  enjoy. 
It  is  a  picture  of  not  a  few  sinners,  perhaj)S  of  all  sinners, 
in  heathen  and  in  Christian  lands  at  certain   times.     They 


11 

would  liavt',  and  yet  they  cannot  liave,  tlic  insi-nsihility  of 
the  (k'acL  And  so  since  they  eannot  haxc  ahsolute  uncon- 
sciousness, tliey  would  liavc  lilV-.  ^'(•s,  there  are  tew  or 
none  so  dead  that  ihcy  do  not  wi-li  at  times  to  have  life. 
And  yet  when  they  would  cxcitt'  and  stiinuhite  it,  they  find 
that  they  have  only  the  clainiuiness  of  death.  It  is  evident 
that  the  heathens  ai-c  seeking  a  life.  \'ou  sci-  it  iti  their 
meaningless  prayers  uttered  so  vehemently  ;  in  their  sacri- 
fices often  so  i)ainful  ;  in  their  processions,  in  their  shouts, 
in  their  dances,  in  their  revelries,  in  their  licentiousness 
without  shame.  But  after  they  have  done  it  all,  they  do 
not  feel  tluit  they  have  life  to  warm  and  sustain  the  soul. 
Instead  of  living  aileetion,  they  lind  in  their  inner  heart 
only  a  hlank  and  a  telt  void.  They  would  at  times  sti'ug- 
gle,  like  a  strong  swimmer  thrown  on  the  wide  waves,  only 
to  find  themselves  hopelessly  sinking.  All  their  convulsive 
efforts  are  merely  like  those  of  the  priests  of  Baal  on  Mount 
Carmel,  when  they  beat  their  bodies,  and  cut  their  breasts, 
only  to  find  their  sacrifice  lying  cold  upon  the  altar. 

Feeling  will  never  be  excited  in  the  bosom  by  a  mere 
command,  by  a  mere  determination  to  raise  it.  There  must 
be  something  to  call  it  forth,  there  nmst  be  an  object  to 
call  it  forth;  there  nmst  be  an  object  presented,  believed  in, 
to  call  it  forth.  There  must  be  a  living,  a  lovely,  and  a 
loving  object  to  call  it  forth.  This  is  a  great  defect  of  our 
systems  of  natural  religion;  while  they  contain  a  body  of 
important  truths,  they  present  nothing  to  raise  atiection. 
This  is  the  defect  of  the  moral  system  of  Confucius,  so  ex- 
tensively adopted  in  Chiiui;  addressing  moral  beings  it  lias 
no  provided  pardon  for  immorality,  and  no  object  to  evoke 
sentiment.  The  Brahmins  profess  to  find  life  in  abstraction, 
in  meditation,  in  union  with  Brahma.  But  it  is  all  in  vain. 
Their  theology  in  its  highest  meaning  is  vague,  objectless, 
inane — like  the  thin  air  up  high  in  the  atmosphere,  in 
which  when  we  mount  up  into  it,  there  is  nothing  to  sus- 
tain us,  and  unsu[)ported  and  in  dull  we  feel  that  we  must 


12 

speedily  come  down,  if  we  would  avoid  a  collapse  and  a 
fall.  If  love  i.-^  ever  called  forth  in  these  bosoms  of  ours, 
it  must  l>e  i»y  a  person,  an  individual  person,  and  not  an 
abstraction,  by  a  livini,^  person,  lovely  and  lovinc:.  There 
is  such  an  object  presented  to  us  to  call  forth  feeling  in 
Christ.  Apprehended  as  the  truth  he  becomes  the  life  ;  his 
spirit  is  given  to  us  and  is  dwelling  in  us,  and  he  becomes 
the  life  in  the  soul,  the  life  of  the  soul. 

11.  Let  rs  view  Christ  as  combining  these  aspects. 

The  full  truth  is  to  be  found  in  the  union  of  these  sepa- 
rate truths,  each  having  its  proper  place. 

"When  each  has  its  due  place,  Christ  must  have  the 
supreme  place  as  the  head,  all  other  things  being  the  mem- 
bers. He  must  be  in  the  building  not  only  as  a  stone,  he 
must  be  the  corner  stone,  in  order  to  have  a  sure  founda- 
tion. He  must  not  only  be  in  the  arch,  he  must  be  the  key- 
stone, to  kcc})  all  tlio  p:irts  fitly  joined  together,  and  thus 
bear  up  the  weight,  the  weight  of  our  sins  and  the  weight 
of  our  sorrows,  which  has  to  be  laid  upon  it. 

There  are  some  who  would  have  us,  first  to  find  the  way, 
and  then  as  we  walk  in  that  way  to  find  Christ.  But  Jesus 
is  himself  the  way.  "I  am  the  way,"  "  verily  I  say  unto 
you  I  am  the  door  of  the  sheep."  Some  put  the  Church 
before  Christ,  and  would  have  inquirers  first  to  find  the 
church,  and  then  through  it  to  find  Christ.  But  this  is  to 
reverse  the  proper  and  the  scriptural  order.  Let  us  first 
seek  Christ,  and  when  we  have  found  hini  we  are  in  the 
true  church  invisible,  and  in  this  pure  light  we  shall  be 
better  able  to  discover  the  proper  church  visible.  That 
is  tlie  true  church  which  makes  Christ  the  head,  "  from 
which  all  the  body  l)y  joints  a!id  bands  having  nourishment 
ministered  and  knit  together,  increaseth  with  the  increase 
of  God." 

There  are  some  who  would  have  us  first  to  seek  the  truth, 
and  then  seek  Christ.  And  by  all  means  let  those  who 
have  not  yet  found  Christ,  be  exhorted  to  seek  the  truth. 


18 

Yes,  seeker.^  of  tiMitli  desiM-vo  nil  the  honor  that  has  been 
paid  to  thoni.  Sincori'  and  pravort'iil  scokcrs  of  truth,  will 
sooner  or  latiT  lind  what  th.-y  ai-c  lo.^kiiiir  for:  not  it  may 
be  in  the  place  which  they  cxixHttiul,  or  in  the  lordly  form 
which  their  iina«rinations  painted  ;  but  they  will  tind  it,  in 
lowly  o-nise  it  may  he,  hut  yet  the  very  truth  of  God,  wliich 
they  have  been  seel<in<;\  Hut  seekers  of  truth  will  never 
lind  truth  or  relio:ion  till  thev  tind  Christ.  Let  us  not  <ro 
out  with  the  tapers  of  earth  to  seek  the  sun,  the  sun  is 
shinini!:  in  the  heavens  and  is  seen  in  his  own  lis^lit.  Any 
other  liii'ht  can  at  best  be  merely  like  the  stars  raised  in  the 
heavens  to  <i:uide  the  wise  men  of  the  east,  servin":  a  c^ood 
end  only  so  far  as  it  guides  us  to  where  Christ  is  to  be  found. 

Some  would  tind  life  without  Christ  There  is  a  general 
feeling  in  the  present  day  in  all  the  churches,  Protestant  and 
Catholic,  and  among  sonn^  aroused  heathen  nations,  that 
they  must  by  all  means  have  life,  have  religious  life.  But 
there  are  some  seeking  for  it  apart  from  Christ.  Their  appeal 
is  to  inward  feeling,  and  intuition.  But  what  I  ask  is  to 
call  forth  other  sentiments  from  the  cold  and  sinful  hearts. 
There  must  be  an  object  to  call  them  forth,  there  must  be 
a  living  being  to  draw  them  towards  himself.  That  living 
being  is  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  also  the  Son  of  Man, 
presenting  himself  to  us  in  all  his  grace  and  attractiveness. 
But  they  tell  us  with  an  imposing  air,  that  this  affection  may 
be  drawn  forth  by  such  grand  and  glorious  ideas,  as  those 
of  the  infinite  and  the  eternal.  Now  I  admit  that  man  is 
capable  of  forming  such  ideas,  and  I  am  opposed  to  that 
philosophy  which  would  make  them  mere  negations.  But 
tbese  ideas  call  forth  love,  only  when  the  (pialities  they  look 
at  are  regarded  as  attributes  of  a  living  being,  whose  love  is 
infinite,  whose  love  is  eternal. 

Again,  tbere  are  persons  who  would  take  Christ  under 
one  of  these  aspects  or  in  one  of  these  characters,  but  who 
do  not  care  for  the  others.  Thus  there  are  some  who  would 
cheerfully  accept   Christ  as   the  way,  but  who  stop  at  the 


14 

entrance,  instead  of  going  on  the  path  which  has  been 
opened.  This  is  a  temptation  to  which  numbers  are  ex- 
posed in  seasons  of  revival.  They  are  most  anxious  to  liave 
Christ  for  salvation,  but  having  found  forgiveness,  as  they 
think,  and  peace  and  assurance,  they  do  not  go  on  to  stab- 
lish  themselves  in  the  trutli.  Some  of  these  are  apt  to  be- 
come teachers,  when  they  should  still  be  scholars.  How 
wise  the  warning  of  the  Apostle,  who  in  describing  the 
qualitications  of  ministers  of  the  Word,  says  they  should 
not  be  "  novices,''  that  is  newly  born,  lest  being  puffed  up 
with  pride  they  tall  into  the  condemnation  of  the  devil. 
AVhat  they  who  are  born  from  above  need,  is  training  and 
a  settling  in  the  truth,  that  being  taught  themselves  they 
may  be  able  to  teach  others. 

There  are  some  contented  with  the  truth  without  the 
life.  They  are  satisfied  with  their  orthodox  creed,  with 
their  reverence  for  the  Bible,  and  their  attendance  at  the 
house  of  God  and  meetings  for  prayer,  and  care  nothing  for 
a  consistent  course  of  honor,  honesty,  humility,  temperance 
and  kindness  and  the  Christian  graces.  Ah  this  it  is  that 
furnishes  a  pretext  to  the  enemies  of  evangelical  religion, 
when  they  declare  that  your  religious  professors  are  no  bet- 
ter than  others,  and  that  if  Christ  were  to  come  among  us 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  he  would  address  ministers  and 
l»eople,  ''Scribes  and  pharisees,  hypocrites."  Such  a  formal 
i-('ligion  is  offensive  above  all  things  to  man,  even  as  it  is 
displeasing  to  God.  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,  but  if 
the  salt  have  lost  its  savor  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted.  It 
is  thenceforth  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  out  and  trod- 
den undci"  the  foot  of  man/' 

()nce  more,  tliere  is  a  very  diti'erent  class,  who  seek  the 
lift'  without  the  truth.  Some  may  have  been  led  into  this 
by  a  reaction  against  a  stifl*  formalism,  or  iVigid  orthodoxy. 
In  other  cases  I  fear  it  proceeds  from  an  unwillingness  to 
submit  to  any  wholesome  restraints.  \V v  have  an  atteijipt 
to   realize  such   an  idea  all  over  the  three  kinu'doms  in  the 


1.-) 

present  dnv.  Porsniis  nrr  cnllinr]:  for  :i  life,  which  is  to  be 
iiHlcpoii(](Mit  of  nil  tlu'  old  tniMiis  of  nfi  1  k m  1  ( . .\ y ,  aiid  of  the 
letter  of  tlic  Word  of  ( lod.  And  I  f<>i-  one  do  not  fe(d  tliat 
r  am  cnlled  on  to  fii;"lit  for  ilie  additions,  wliidi  men  liave 
made  to  divine  ti-ntli  or  to  the  forms  \\hi(di  they  havr  im- 
pnsi'd  upon  it.  There  is  a  cnr^e  ]H"ononn('ed  at  the  dose 
of  the  P>ook  of  Revelation,  ujion  those  who  \vould  adtl  to 
it.  '^  For  I  testify  to  every  man  that  heareth  tlie  word  of 
tiie  prophecy  of  tliis  hook.  If  any  man  sliall  add  unto 
these  thiuii^s,  (iod  shall  add  unto  him  the  plairues  that  ai'c 
written  in  tliis  hook."  liut  tliere  is  also  a  curse  ready  to 
aliii'ht  on  tliose  wlio  wouhl  diminisli  (^u«^lit  from  tliat  word. 
"If  any  man  sliall  take  away  tVom  the  words  of  tlie  ho(dv  of 
this  propheey,  God  shall  take  away  liis  jtart  out  of  tlie  l)(>ok 
of  life,  a!id  out  of  the  lioly  city,  and  from  the  thini]cs  which 
are  written  in  this  hook."  Of  tliis  I  am  sure  that  the  life 
which  is  not  supported  by  scriptural  truth,  will  he  of  a  very 
powerless,  wavering,  and  transient  character;  and  we  have 
not  a  few  examples  in  the  present  da}-,  of  persons  begin- 
ning to  slide  on  the  scale,  only  t<^  find  themselves  speedily 
falling  at  its  base.  By  all  means  let  us  have  the  tire  and 
the  Hame  too  ;  but  no  fire  can  be  kept  u\)  without  a  solid 
material  to  feed  on,  and  the  nutriment  on  which  the  spirit- 
ual life  feeds  on  is  the  truth  of  God's  word. 

We  may  now^  consider  these  truths  especially  in  their 
practical  connection.  And  here  as  in  regard  to  doctrinal 
belief  let  us  not  put  asunder,  what  the  Lord  hath  indisso- 
lubly  joined  together.  The  garment  wdiich  falls  to  our  lot 
is  woven  throughout  and  without  seam,  and  cannot  be 
divided.  Thatgarmentis  Christ's, and  hecomesours through 
his  sufferings  and  death. 

Jesus  w^as  so  called  from  his  birth,  because  he  saves  his 
people  from  their  sins.  The  w^oi-k  is  his  throughout.  Let 
us  consider  how  much  is  involved  in  this  salvation.  Let 
us  look  to  him  for  pardon,  by  all  means  pardon,  for  it  is  to 
be  found  nowhere  else.      But  this  is  not  all  that  i<  involved 


IG 

in  salvation, lie  is  Jesus  so  called  not  only  because  he  saves 
from  the  consequences  of  sin,  but  because  he  saves  from 
the  sins  tlicnisclves. 

If  I  am  to  have  the  love  of  the  world  and  of  the  things 
that  arc  in  the  world  broug'ht  down,  it  must  be  by  having 
my  heart  fixed  on  a  new  object  which  I  love  more  dearly, 
it  must  be  by  Clirist  becoming  the  supreme  object  of  affec- 
tion. No  man  was  ever  yet  saved  from  his  sins  by  merely- 
striving  with  them.  Alas  I  many  brave  men  have  been  de- 
feated in  the  fight,  and  have  been  merely  exasperated  by 
the  struggle,  as  the  prisoner  is  chafed  in  beating  upon  the 
walls  of  his  prison  from  wdiich  there  is  no  escape,  as  the 
eagle  is  irritated  by  its  dashing  upon  its  cage,  as  the  sea  is 
lashed  into  foam  by  its  being  driven  upon  the  rocks.  "  Sin 
taking  occasion  by  the  commandment  wrought  in  me  all 
manner  of  concupiscence."  "When  the  commandment  came 
sin  revived  and  I  died."  "  Sin  taking  occasion  by  the  com- 
mandment deceived  me  and  by  it  slew  me."  It  is  when  I 
am  led  to  love  Christ  that  I  am  delivered  from  that  selfish- 
ness, which  is  so  deepl}^  seated  in  the  soul,  and  which  so 
cleaves  to  me.  It  was  when  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was 
put  into  the  temple  of  Dagon,  that  the  idol  fell  down,  and 
it  was  as  it  continued  there,  that  all  attempts  to  raise  him 
up  failed,  and  he  became  more  crushed  and  broken.  And 
it  is  thus  that  these  idols  of  ours  are  cast  down  before  the 
presence  and  power  of  Jesus  as  he  condescends  to  enter  our 
liearts.  This  is  the  pearl  of  great  price,  which  when  a  man 
hears  of  he  sells  all  that  he  has,  all  wordly  lusts  and  pas- 
sions, that  lie  niiy  have  it,  and  I'eel  that  he  is  rich  when  he 
has  such  a  possession.  Swayed  l>y  this  new  and  higher 
and  more  potent  afiection,  he  is  ready  to  part  with  the  lusts 
which  have  been  dearest  to  him,  when  he  discovers  them  to  be 
offensive  to  him  whom  his  soul  loveth.  If  his  right  hand 
offends  he  cuts  it  off  and  casts  it  from  him,  if  his  right  eye 
offends  he  plucks  it  out  and  casts  it  from  him.  And  when  at 
any  time    the    believer  is   led  into  sin,  and  is  tein[)ted  to  go 


17 

on  lieadstrong'  in  his  cdinsi',  lie  is  hroiiirlit  toVopoiitiincc  as 
Peter  was,  l>y  a  vii'w  of  .lesus  as  lie  turns  round  and  looks 
upon  liiiii  ;  it  is  that  look  of  desus  that  makes  him  '' i^^o 
out  and  weep  hittei'lv." 

It  is  as  we  look  up  to  that  star  in  the  >ky,  that  this  down- 
ward look  of  ours  is  upliftcil,  and  our  frame  becomes  erect 
and  our  path  hecomes  a  foi-ward  oni'.  It  is  tliis  li^dit  sliin- 
inii;  above  us,  as  the  sun  which  shows  us  the  path  and  cheers 
us  as  we  walk  in  it.  it  is  by  lookiuu;  into  the  face  of 
Jesus  that  we  are  ehani^ed  into  the  same  imaije,  as  we  liavv 
seen  the  imai^e  of  lu»aven  rellected  on  the  bosom  of  a  tran- 
quil lake  spread  out  beneath.  "  We  all  with  open  face 
beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  tlie  Lord,  are  changed 
into  the  same  image  as  by  the  spii'it  of  the  Lord." 

It  is  part  of  my  duty  as  Tresidtuit  to  give  Bililieal  In- 
struction to  the  students  of  this  College.  In  fulfilment  of 
tliis  I  have  (bii-ing  the  year,  taken  as  my  theme  the  Life  of 
Jesus  as  detailed  in  the  four  (iospels.  Xext  year  I  may 
direct  the  students  to  the  planting  of  the  Churcli  as  re- 
corded in  the  book  of  Acts,  and  in  portions  of  the  Epistles. 
In  a  third  year  I  nniy  go  back  to  the  preparations  for  tlie 
comins:  of  Christ,  in  the  Old  Testament.  And  in  a  fourtli 
year  I  may  expound  Christian  Doctrine.  This  plan,  if  I 
am  spared  to  execute  it,  enables  us  to  go  round  a  full  course 
of  Bible  instruction  in  four  years.  I  liave  begun  at  the 
foundation:  "  For  othei-  foundation  can  no  man  lay,  than 
that  is  laid  which  is  Jesus  Christ."  It  is  a  most  interesting 
fact  and  significant  that  religious  tlionglit  and  discussion  for 
some  years  past  in  Euro[»e,  and  now  in  AnuM'ica,  are  gather- 
insr  round  the  works,  the  teachinir,  the  life  of  desus:  these 
are  felt  to  furnish  the  first  and  the  final  evidence  in  belialf  ot 
the  religion  whicli  Jesus  established.  I^ersons  disposed  to 
turn  away  from  everything  «'lse,  have  felt  th:it  they  cannot 
cast  off  Christ  himseif  and  his  lovely  character.  In  a  course 
of  twenty-eight  lectures  I  liave  g')ne  over  the  events  of  his 


18 

life,  and  his  sayings  and  discourses,  from  -liis  i)irtli  in  Bothle- 
licni  to  his  last  words  on  the  cross,  ''Fatlier  forgive  them  for 
tliey  know  not  wliat  they  do,''  and  "  into  tliy  hand  I  com- 
mend my  s[)irit."  T  have  not  tiied  to  speak  for  Jesus,  but 
I  have  endeavored  to  lot  Jesus  speak  for  himself.  I  have 
not  sought  to  come  between  you  and  the  light  to  obstruct 
any  portion  of  it,  but  standing  by  I  have  pointed  to  it,  that 
you  may  see  how  pleasant  it  is,  and  be  led  to  walk  and  re- 
joice in  it.  It  now  only  remains  that  T  ap})ly  the  whole 
subject  to  the  position  o^'  those,  who  after  having  been 
years  with  us,  are  finally  leaving  us  to  go  forth  to  their 
various  professional  studies  and  works. 

Gentlemen  of  the  graduating  class,  you  have  left  behind 
a  very  pleasant  remembrance  of  yourselves  and  your 
behaviour.  I  trust  you  will  on  the  other  hand  retain  and 
cherish  a  pleasant  remembrance  of  this  place  and  this  Col- 
lege, of  your  instructors  and  your  fellow^  students.  We  look 
forward  with  some  anxiety,  but  with  far  greater  liope  to 
your  future  lives.  We  wish  that  success  may  attend  you 
in  your  various  callings  ;  but  in  this  house  of  God  we  pray 
for  higher  blessings,  "  For  our  brethren  and  companions' 
sakes,  we  will  now  say  peace  be  within  you."'  It  has  been 
said  of  a  mother,  that  if  ever  she  is  tempted  to  show  more 
love  to  one  than  to  the  others  of  her  sons,  it  will  be  to  that 
son  who  is  in  sickness,  in  pain,  in  ditHculty — the  mother's 
affection  clings  around  him  the  closer  the  ruder  the  assaults 
made  upon  him.  So  it  will  be  with  your  Alma  Mater.  She 
will  rejoice  to  hear  of  you  in  health  and  with  the  blessings 
of  earth  showered  upon  you;  but  she  will  rejoice  still  more 
to  liear  of  you  pursuing  the  path  of  honor  and  integrity, 
and  this  wliether  it  brings  the  world's  favor  or  tlie  world's 
frown.  He  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  great  man,  he  I  trust 
will  ever  be  the  favourite  with  us,  who  walking  in  the  midst 
of  tcm])tation  and  defalcation  and  pollution,  holds  liimself 
high  above  it  and  refuses  to  be  contaminated  by  it.  Jesus 
our  exemplar  was  not  a  successful  man  in  this  ^vorld's  esti- 


10 

nuitioii  ;  l.iit  he  :((M'..iiij.li>lM  .,  ;,  um,k  <>ii  our  carili,  in  com- 
parisoii  of  wliidi  no  othn-  i-,  worthy  of  hoin^r  nanu'il  ;  and 
I  believe  tliat  \\i<  iiiotlit-r,  as  -lie  stoi.d  at  tlio  foot  of  tin- 
cross,  loved  him  with  a  depth  of  atn-ction  which  rthe  never 
cherished  before.  We  send  y(»u  forth  witli  «,^o(hI  wishes  for 
all;  hut  il'  there  is  one. >f  you  who  is  seekin«;t()  rise  al)ove  the 
meanness  of  the  world,  ahove  the  ai;e,  it  may  he  a!)ove  liim- 
self,  ever  ready  to  sa.riliee  his  own  interest  to  the  good  of 
others,  and  who  aims  at  iioihin*^  less  than  making  Ids  fellow 
men  wiser  and  hetter,  that  son  of  ours  will  he  followed  hy 
us  in  his  career  with  intense  interest,  and  when  he  returns 
to  us  he  will  ever  h'  welcome  to  us,  jus  the  sou  is  to  the 
bosom  of  his  mothei". 

To  go  over  the  points  of  the  text  and  apply  them. 

1.  ^4"?  to  fhr  tciui  In  fore  ijoa.  Here  you  have  received  soumi 
instruction  by  painstaking  teachers,  in  valuable  branches  of 
learning,  fitted  to  prepare  you  for  the  work  before  you.  1 
believe  that  in  your  future  lives,  as  you  discover  the  benefit 
you  are  deriving  from  it,  you  will  value  that  instructiou 
more  than  you  do  to-day.  Here  you  have  ac(juired  habits 
of  api)lication,  which  will  turn  out  to  be  of  more  advantage 
to  you,  than  all  the  kiiowK'«lgt'  ,.r  aecoinpli-hmeuts  you 
have  i^ained.  In  vour  future  lives,  in  whatever  position  vou 
may  b<i  placed, you  will  tind  that  by  well  trained  and  highly 
cultivated  minds  you  can  accomplish  work,  which  cannot 
be  done  by  others  who  have  not  been  so  educated. 

But  then  you  are  travellers  set  out  in  a  journey,  which 
no  doubt  goes  through  this  world,  hut  terminates  in  another. 
It  is  of  tln'  utmost  im[K)rtance  that  you  now  set  out  on  the 
rii::ht  wav.  I  have  ><}ii\\  a  stream  issuing  from  a  fountain 
on  a  mountain  ridge,  hesitating  as  it  were  for  a  time,  on 
whicli  side  to  tlow  ;  and  by  a  little  trouble  you  could  have 
made  it  taki'  /A/>  direction,  where  it  would  have  emptie«l 
itself  into  the  sea  at  one  side  of  the  country,  or  take  thai 
direction  where  it  would  run  into  the  ocean  at  the  very  op- 
posite shores  of  a  conlin<nt.     <  >f  a  like  natun-  are  the  criti- 


20 

cal  cinerii"(.Mi('ios  wliicli  risi'  in  oiir  liist(»rv  :  it"  \vv  tiike  this 
wav  our  lot  tor  timt'  or  otornity  is  (k'trrnrnKMl  in  one  (liroc- 
tion  ;  if  we  turn  this  otlicr  way,  it  is  lieiu'ct'ortli  in  a  totally 
(lirtorent  (lirection.  You,  my  young  friends,  have  reached 
sueh  a  jxVmt.  Take  the  one  road,  and  it  may  lead  down  to 
sin,  to  ruin,  t(^  hell:  take  the  othei-,  through  Christ  as 
the  wav  standiu'^'  hefore  you  and  open  to  you,  and  it  will 
eonduet  into  the  }>atli  of  faith,  of  holiness,  of  honiM',  and 
integrity,  towards  God  and  lieaven  and  glory. 

2.  A^  fo  the  frufh.  "  ^Tan,"  says  Aristotle,  ''  is  organized 
for  truth."  Knowledge,  truth  is  the  nutriment  on  which 
the  intellectual  part  of  our  nature  feeds,  and  it  is  strength- 
ened hy  it.  I  Fere  in  this  College  you  have  had  knowledge 
imparted  to  you,  knowledge  solid  rather  than  show}',  and 
you  have  learned  much  truth,  tlnit  is  of  the  reality  of  things, 
in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth,  in  the  world  within  and  the 
world  without  us.  Science  has  a  })lace  in  this  College,  and 
will  have  a  growing  place,  growing  with  tlie  growth  of 
science. 

We  do  not  wish  in  this  institution  to  check  the  spirit  of 
in(piiry.  All  that  we  desire  is  to  see  it  rightly  directed. 
And  what  I  ask  for  first  of  all,  and  mainly  on  your  part,  is  a 
sincere  wish  and  anxiety  to  discover  the  truth  ;  to  find,  not 
what  pleases,  not  what  gratifies,  not  what  allows  us  to  con- 
tinue uudisturhc(l  in  sin,  hut  truth  )»urc  and  sim}»le.  Setting 
out  in  this  s[>irit  1  have  no  fears  of  you.  You  may  he  in 
darkness  and  difficulties  for  a  time,  l)ut  sooner  or  later  a 
lighi  will  arise  to  guide  you,  a^  the  star  did  to  the  seekers 
of  wisdom  fi-om  the  lOast,  and  it  will  conduct  you  to  the 
very  place  whei'c  truth  is  to  he  found,  not  it  nniy  ])e  in  the 
form  which  you  expected,  hut  the  very  truth  of  (iod  revealed 
to  man,  and  i)efore  which  you  pom-  out  the  incense  of  a 
tru<*  heart,  more  precious  than  the  gold,  the  frankincense 
and  the  myrrh,  presented  by  the  wise  men  of  the  P]ast  to  the 
infant  ifedeemer. 


21 

IFaviii^  reaclicd  a  (-(M-fain  jiinoiuit  yn\\  will  sook  to  hold 
by  wliat  yon  liavt'  attained.  mikI  lu'war.'  of  (lie  spirit  airaiiint 
wliicli  wc  arc  w.u-ikmI,  "  cvn-  I«'aniinLC  !>'»<l  n«'Vi'r  ahk*  to 
conio  to  a  knowK'di^^c  ,»f  tl,,.  tnitli."  And  with  all  <h'tV'ronce 
to  certain  livinu;  men  oT  li-cnins,  who  hold  that  correct  views 
of  rolio'ions  trntli  .annot  he  had,  I  maintain  that  <-h'ar  views 
of  truth  arc  to  he  |>r<'t"crrcd  lo  contnsiMl  oiif-.  I  am  n<»t  to 
disparage  a  warm  heart;  hut  a  warm  hiMrt  at  tin-  scat  of 
life,  is  all  the  hcttci*  of  a  dear  head  ahove  it  to  instruct  and 
guide  it.  Takinu-  I  he  sun  as  the  type  n\'  all  ^-reatness,  we 
find  that  he  i::ives  li^-lit  aloiiLf  with  the  heal,  and  I  helieve 
our  reliii'ion  does  the  same. 

Xot  that  yon  will  expect  to  rise  to  a  full  «*omprehension 
of  all  the  truths,  which  have  heen  so  tar  revealed  to  us  ahout 
God  and  rcilcniption.  "•  We  kn<»w,"'  >/r\  //v  lnio}i\  l)ut  we 
know  in  part  only.  We  who  dwell  in  a  woi-ld  "where  (hiv 
and  nin'ht  alternate,"  wc  who  ^o  evei'ywln'i*e  acenmpanied 
by  our  own  shaihiw — a  shadow  jirodnced  by  our  dark  body, 
but  pro(bieed  because  there  is  liirht — cannot  expect  to  be 
absolutely  delivered  tVoni  the  darkness.  Man's  faculties, 
exquisitely  adapted  to  the  sphei'e  in  which  he  moves,  were 
never  intended  to  enable  him  to  comju'chend  all  truth.  The 
mind  is  in  this  res]»eci  like  the  eye.  The  eye  is  s«)  constituted 
as  to  [)erceivi'  the  thiuLT^^  within  a  ci'rtain  raui^e,  but  as  oljjeets 
are  removed  farther  and  farther  from  us,  they  luM'ome  more 
indistinct,  and  at  Icn^-th  are  lost  siijfht  «)f  altoLTcthei*.  It  is 
tlie  same  with  the  human  mind.  It  can  understand  certain 
8ul)jects  and  to  a  cci-tain  distance,  but  as  tln'y  reach  away 
farther  they  look  more  and  more  confused,  and  at  Icnixth 
they  disappear  from  the  view.  And  if  tiie  human  spirit 
attempts  to  mount  higher  than  its  proper  elevation  it  will 
find  all  its  flights  fruitless.  The  dovi',  to  use  an  illustration 
of  Kant's,  may  mount  to  a  certain  (devation  in  the  heavens, 
but  as  slie  rises  the  air  bei-omcs  lighter,  an<l  at  length  slie 
finds  that  she  can  no  longer  float  upon  its  ]»osom,  and  sliould 
she  attempt  to  soar  higher,  her  pinions  flutter  in   emptiness 


ami  she  t'altrrs  and  tails.  So  it  is  with  the  .s})irit  of  man,  it 
can  winic  its  way  a  certain  distance  into  the  expanse  above 
it,  hut  there  is  a  limit,  which  if  it  endeavors  to  pass,  it  will 
find  all  its  concei)tions  void  and  its  ratiocinations  uncon- 
nected. 

Placed  as  we  are  in  the  centre  of  boundless  space,  and  in 
the  middle  ot^  eternal  aii^es,  we  can  see  only  a  few  objects 
immediately  around  us,  an<l  all  others  fade  in  outline,  as 
they  are  removed  from  us,  by  distance,  till  at  length  they 
be  altogether  beyond  our  vision.  And  this  remark  holds 
true  not  only  of  the  more  ignorant  of  those  whose  eye  can 
penetrate  the  least  distance,  it  is  true  also  of  the  learned ; 
it  is  perhaps  true  of  all  created  beings,  that  there  is  a  bound- 
ing sphere  of  darkness  surrounding  the  space  rendered  clear 
by  the  torch  of  science.  Nay  it  almost  looks  as  if  the  wider 
the  boundaries  of  science  are  pushed,  and  the  greater  the 
space  illuminated  by  it,  the  greater  in  proportion  the  bound- 
ing sphere  into  which  no  rays  i)enetrate,  just  as  (to  use  a 
very  old  comparison)  when  we  strike  up  a  light  in  the  midst 
of  darkness,  in  proijortion  as  the  light  becomes  stronger,  so 
does  also  that  surface  black  and  dark  which  is  rendered 
visible. 

Still  God  has  given  us  light  in  the  midst  of  darkness,  let 
us  open  our  eyes  to  it,  let  us  walk  in  it,  let  us  rejoice  in  it. 
As  you  do  so  you  will  find,  as  you  follow  that  light,  through 
what  may  be  at  first  a  dim  ]>assage,  that  you  reach  more 
light.  In  that  light  we  shall  dearly  see  light.  The  view 
which  you  at  last  i'ea<'li,  may  be  like  that  which  we  have 
had  iVoin  a  m(»untain  to})  on  a  sunshiny  and  bracing  day, 
not  indeed  an  unlimitt'(l  \iew,  forthis  would  leave  us  nothing 
more  to  disco\'ei'  and  behold,  but  still  a  clear  \iew  between 
us  and  a  distant  horizon,  u  hich  w  hen  we  reach  in  our  ex- 
[dorations  in  tliis  world  or  the  next,  we  hope  to  discover 
moi*e  without  limit  and  without  end,  as  we  know  more  of 
(lod  and  ol"  a  boundless  universe. 


23 

8.  Asfo  the  life,  r  trust  VDu  liavc  roccivcd  smuc  life  jiiid  im- 
pul^o  ill  tliis  Colloii-c.  TluMT  is  M  cry  in  tli«'  prcsfiit  dav  to 
have  education  altoi»;otlic'i'  and  exclusively  scientific,  and  in 
science  these  persons  include  oidy  pliysical  science.  N<k\v 
by  all  means  let  us  eive  science  a  place  and  a  InLrli  jdac«', 
hut  ill  science  let  us  iindude  the  study  of  tlie  liuinan  mind, 
that  in  knowiuij:  other  thiiie-s  wc  may  know  oui--el\c-.  I'ut 
then  the  intellectual  powers  which  are  led  hy  -^cientitic  tnitli, 
are  not  the  only  i'aculties  which  (Jod  has  li'iven;  hesides  the 
intellectual  powers,  (Jod  has  L'■i^'«'n  us  motive  and  moi'al 
powers  ol' no  less  inn)ortance.  With  the  lii^ht  we  must  also 
have  warmth.  We  may  discover  a  heauty  even  in  the  win- 
ter, with  its  clear  nii^iitsand  shinin</  s!  ir-  ;  hut  were  it  only 
for  variety's  sake  we  wish  to  have  summer  also,  with  its  leaves 
and  flowers  as  well  as  winter.  And  so  alonir  with  science 
let  us  have  history,  and  let  us  have  literature,  and  let  us 
give  an  evei-  i^rowinjx  place  to  these,  hy  a(Mini(  modern  to 
ancient  learnini^,  to  stimulate  and  ri]>en  tlie  mind  hy  stirrins: 
narratives,  hy  ]»oetrv  and   hy  ehxiuence. 

l>ut  in  seekini;^  life,  let  us  si'ck  to  ha\-e  relie;ious  life. 
Without  this,  other  life  nuiy  only  lead  to  misdirected  eneriT}-, 
and  is  certain  to  end  in  exhaustion  and  disappointment ; 
and  we  shall  have  to  say  even  of  scientitic  knowledge, 
though  we  should  give  our  liearts  to  seek  and  search  out 
by  wisdom  all  things  that  arc  done  in  heaven  and  earth, 
and  give  ourselves  to  books  and  hook  making,  that  they  are  a 
weariness,  and  that  they  cannot  after  all  satisfy  the  deeper 
wants  of  the  soul.  The  eye  is  not  satisfied  witli  seeing,  nor 
the  ear  with  hearing,  and  if  we  have  nothing  else,  we  are 
made  to  feel  that  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit;  that 
after  the  howl  is  quaffed  thedivgs  are  hitter;  that  when  the 
iiame  has  died  down  nothing  hut  ashes  remain  ;  that  the 
tlower  is  blown  away,  while  the  thorn  is  left.  "  I'ut  where 
is  wisdom  to  be  found?  "  The  restless  sea  says  it  is  not  in 
me.  The  air  ever  agitated  says  it  is  not  in  me.  The  mov- 
ing sun,  moon  and  stars  sav  it  is  not  in    nie.      Kverv  season 


24 

as  it  rolls  on  wlu'tluT  >i»rini:,or  suiiiiiici-,  orautuinii,  or  winter 
says  it  is  not  in  niv.  Kvcrv  \ivv\)  of  the  Held, every  beast  of  the 
field  says  I  must  die,  it  is  not  in  me.  Every  fellow  man  says  I 
am  no  better  than  yourself,  it  is  not  in  me.  Where  then 
can  that  which  the  soul  is  seeking  be  found?  It  is  found 
only  in  him  who  is  the  truth  and  the  life  to  the  soul.  He 
who  has  taken  Christ,  as  his  portion,  ean  never  })roperly 
speaking  he  disapjjointed.  How  distressing  the  condition 
of  a  man  who  hiis  lived  for  a  mere  earthly  pur[)ose,  and  finds, 
after  the  toil  of  a  lifetime,  that  this  has  failed,  and  with  this 
the  very  end  of  his  existence.  AVhat  is  left  him  but  to  say, 
tliey  have  taken  away  my  gods  and  what  have  they  left  me. 
It  is  different  with  the  Christian.  He  nuiy  fail  of  some 
particular  end,  but  he  cannot  fail  of  his  grand  end  ;  he  may 
not  be  able  owing  to  the  storms  which  drive  him  back,  to 
touch  at  particular  i)oints,  but  he  reaches  sooner  or  later  his 
final  haven.  Such  a  faith  with  its  motive  and  end,  will  o;ive 
a  consistency  to  his  character  and  lite  amid  every  change  of 
scene.  The  vessel  on  the  ocean  is  an  ever  moving  object 
out  there  among  the  agitated  elements.  The  winds  of  heaven 
may  ])e  raging  around  it,  the  sea  may  be  working  tempestu- 
ous and  threatening  to  overwhelm  it,  and  the  ship  is  not 
for  one  instant  at  rest.  But  meanwhile  there  is  a  unity  and 
steadfastness  in  all  its  movements,  foi- its  course  is  towards  a 
particular  haven,  and  it  is  taking  advantage  of  the  very 
troubled  elements  to  hasten  its  destination.  A  similar 
unity  an<l  consistency  of  action  aiv  inijiarted  to  the  soul, 
setting  out  on  the  ti'ouble(l  sea  of  life,  when  it  is  enabled  to 
aim  at  nothing  else  than  the  promotion  of  the  glory  of  God 
and  obedience  to  his  will.  This  high  motive  jjower  will  raise 
the  youth  abo\'c  the  oi'flinary  ti'ials  and  temptations  of  life. 
Temptation  will  no  longer  l)e  felt  to  i)e  temjttation  by  those 
who  are  eni^a<'"e(l  in  the  strui^i::le.  It  is  recoi'ded  of  a  Konnm 
army,  that  when  cai-nestly  engage(l  in  battle  with  the  ene- 
mies of  their  country,  the  soldiers  were  unciniscious  of  an 
earth(piake  which  made  the  ground  to  trendjle  beneath  their 


feet.  Jt  IS  thus  Ww  Cl.rislinn  tocls  wl.c.  .arnoHtly  voulvml- 
in<r  iov  tlio  l.onor  of  Lis  Uv^lrvuwv.  He  is  wuiovvi]  ahovc 
tlir  iiillueiicc  of  the  onlii.arv  hmptaticMis  of  life  ;  and  in 
answer  to  vwvy  {.ropos:,!  lo  «|,aw  l,in.  down  Iron,  his 
elevation,  hv.  sajs  with  NrlHinial.,  -  I  am  doin-  a  ^nvat  work 
and  cannot  coihc  down  to  tlu'e." 


